Coming Home
by WatchfulEyes
Summary: Rory seemed to have moved on with her life after Jess left. What happens when he comes back? Read and find out! Please R&R.
1. The Missing Lorelai

****

The Missing Lorelai

"Mom! Get up! I need to get some coffee and food in my system before I shut down."

After a few moments of silence, Rory ran up the stairs that led to her mother's room. 

"Mom!" she yelled again. After staring at an empty room, she began to get worried. She searched the rest of the rooms in their house, and, when her mom was no where to be found, she grabbed her jacket and ran to the only place she could think of.

"Luke! My mom is gone!" before even realizing how loud she had screamed this out, she soon had the attention of the whole diner. She chuckled uneasily, and made her way to the counter, only to ask the same question again. 

"Luke, do you know where my mom is?" 

"Probably lying in a ditch somewhere, dying from those clogged arteries of hers," he said with a chuckle. Luke didn't think that Rory was serious, since the mother and daughter always seemed to know where the other one was at all times.

After hearing no response from Rory, Luke looked up at a terrified face. He quickly took back what he had said and became worried. "You really don't know where she is?"

Rory dropped her head on the cold counter and began to cry.

****

*************************************************************************************

Luke left Caesar in charge as the worried pair set off to find the missing Lorelai.

"Where would she go at this time of day without no one knowing where she is?" Luke questioned. 

Rory was so worried that she didn't even bother trying to answer Luke's question. They went back to the house. Still empty. Rory went to sit down on the couch in their living room and seemed to go into a trance.

Just then, the phone rang. Rory waited a few moments before getting up, then she answered the call. 

"Hello?" Rory said flatly.

"Rory! How are you doing this morning?"

"Um…I'm actually busy right now, Grandma." Rory didn't want to take any more time talking to her incessant Grandmother now, but she didn't want to be rude.

"With what? You can't find time in your busy schedule to talk with your Grandmother for just a minute?" she replied sternly, but still in a calm voice.

"Of course, Grandma, I just can't find mom and I'm starting to get worried."

"Who? Lorelai? Well, she's over here, darling."

A breathe of relief filled Rory's lungs. "Why is she over there?"

"Oh, I asked her to come. I'm going to have a dinner party and she and Sookie are going to cater it for me."

"Oh. Well, can I talk to her, please?"

"Why, of course."

After a few moments of silence, a familiar voice was heard over the phone. 

"Hello?" the voice said in a bright , sunny tone.

"Mom! Why didn't you tell me that you were going over there? Luke and I have been worried!"

"Wait, Luke is over there?" Lorelai said amusingly. "Is he actually worried about me or just there cracking jokes?" 

"Mom!" Rory said, now getting angry.

"Well, babe, I told you that I was coming over here today, remember?"

Rory paused, searching her mind. Of course! Her mother told her last night when she was studying.

"Mom. You told me when I was studying! You might as well have just told me when I was asleep!"

"Sorry! Well, I'll be back home in a couple hours."

Rory hung up the phone and looked up apologetically at Luke. 

"I'm so sorry Luke. Mom was over in Hartford this whole time. She told me last night but I didn't really hear it because I was studying, and…"

Before she could continue, Luke interrupted by saying, "It's okay, Rory. I'm just glad that you came to me for help."

Both exchanged grateful smiles before starting to head over to the diner. Rory had begun to tell Luke about how much she liked Yale, when all of a sudden, he just paused in the doorway. Rory noticed that something caught his attention. She looked up, and there he was sitting at the counter. Jess. 


	2. The Unexpected Visitor

****

The Unexpected Visitor

Rory was so shocked to him there. She just stared.

"What?" he finally said in a smooth, calm voice.

Before she could even search for words, Luke interrupted her thoughts.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jess?!"

"I thought it would be fun to come back, is all."

Rory didn't understand it. How could he just come back after all that he did to this town, to Luke, to her? How could he talk in that tone of voice that he did when he first came to Stars Hollow? Why did he choose to come back now? Everything was finally falling back into place for her, everything fit. Now that Jess was back, she knew that would change.

"That's all?" Luke retorted. "You can't just come back here. Why didn't you just stay with Jimmy?" Luke moved back behind the counter. Rory stayed standing in the doorway.

"So, Rory, you just going to stand there, in everyone's way?" Jess questioned her amusingly.

Rory peered back, noticing the people who wanted to get into the diner for some of Luke's delicious food. She quickly replied, "Sorry," and walked out of the door, not looking back at Luke or Jess. She had to get out of there; she had to go somewhere to think, or get her mind off of Jess; she wasn't quite sure which one yet.

The whole walk home, she mumbled to herself. She was so confused. How could just five seconds at looking at Jess bring back all of that confusion and hurt she thought was all behind her?

She entered her house, then rushed to her room. She flopped down on her bed, sighing deeply. She turned so that she was on her back, now staring at her ceiling. She was so overwhelmed with thoughts of Jess, that she couldn't even think anymore. Her mind was blank, which was a first for her, considering her background.

She heard a faint knocking at the door. She got up and started to walk towards the door. "Mom, did you forget your key again? I told you to keep it in your purse or at least somewhere where you'll know where it is so you can get into the house…" she opened the door, but didn't find her mom.

"What are you doing here, Jess?"

"Well, you kind of took off so suddenly from the diner that I didn't really get to say hi."

"Um, well, I had some studying to do, so, I thought that I would come here and do it, so…"

"Right." Jess said hesitantly. "Isn't it summer now? You know, symbolizing not having to do homework?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, school, is over, but there is still summer reading and stuff like that. I just didn't want to get behind."

Jess stared at her for a few moments, noticing how awkward she was.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Rory."

"Yeah, you, too."

Jess began to walk away, when he heard Rory say, "Why did you come back, Jess?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said, while walking away, leaving Rory standing in the doorway.

*************************************************************************************

"Hey, babe, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just need to find my coat."

"It's by the door on the coat rack. You know - the thing that has the spiky things sticking out so you can hang your things on them?" Lorelai said in a sarcastic voice.

"Right," Rory said flatly. She still thought about Jess, even though she hadn't seen him for a couple days now. She kept on wondering if he took off again or was just avoiding her, as she was trying to avoid him.

*************************************************************************************

~Later in Hartford at Lorelai's parents' house~

"So, Grandma, how was your dinner party?"

"Oh, it went very well. Thank you for asking!"

"No problem," Rory told her Grandmother, displaying a small smile.

Lorelai began to talk about her event-filled day, as Rory accidentally tuned her out. She didn't know. She didn't know he was back. If she knew, then she would have marched right down there and told him off. Rory knew that her mom would do this - she didn't like what she did to her only daughter, and she would make that known to him and whoever else that would be listening.

After the drive home, they passed _Luke's_. Rory saw Jess working and immediately thought that she had to see him. She didn't know what she would say to him or if he would even want to talk to her.

When they got home, Rory told her mom that she wanted to go over to Lane's, just to talk. She didn't seem suspicious or question her daughter's intentions, so Rory left the house and headed for the diner. She was standing outside of _Luke's_ when she suddenly felt nervous. Her stomach began to fill with knots. Before she could turn away, she heard the bell above the door ring. She just hoped, _wished_, that it wasn't who she thought it was.

She looked up after squeezing her eyes shut for a few moments. It was Luke. She never felt so relieved.

"Hey, Luke."

"Hi, Rory. Did you want something to eat?" 

"Um, no. I was just walking. So, where's Jess at?" Rory asked as subtly as she could.

"Jess? I don't know. His shift was over, so he just took off. Your guess at where he is is as good as mine." Luke declared.

She took in a deep breathe and knew exactly where he was. She began to walk away, forgetting that Luke was there. After a few minutes, she saw him. She saw Jess. Exactly where she knew he was going to be.


	3. So This Is What It's Going To Be Like?

So This Is What It's Going To Be Like?

Rory stood there on the grass. She knew that Jess would be at that bridge; the bridge where they had that picnic lunch she put together. After recalling that event, she smiled to herself, remembering how she had tricked Jess into eating that gross macaroni and cheese. She started to stare down at her feet, as the sudden rush of memories came flooding back to her. All of the memories that included Jess; all of the memories that made her feel like she really loved him.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she heard Jess call out to her.

"Are you smiling at your shoes?" he asked quizzically. "Did they say something funny?" he now replied in a jokingly matter.

"Well, you know, shoes have a lot to say. They've been everywhere you've been and haven't complained once about being the one that has to step in poop and mud."

He knew that she was just kidding and smiled back at her. He missed that smile of hers, how it was small and more to herself than anyone else, but that it could make anyone who was around her smile, too.

"So, what are you doing here, Gilmore? Shouldn't you be studying?"

She felt a wave of nervousness go through her body. Did he know that she lied to him earlier when she told him that she had to study, secretly hoping that that reason would make him leave? That she just couldn't talk to him then? That she might lose control and end up doing something that she promised herself she wouldn't do?

"I thought that I would take a break and just walk around for a little while. I ended up here and wasn't sure if I should stay or keep on walking."

"Well, if you want to stay here, I could leave, Rory," he told her, secretly hoping deep down that she would tell him he could stay.

"I don't know…I don't care if you leave or stay, though. I was just thinking about some things and thought that I could come down here and sit and look out at the water and, well, think."

Jess used his right hand, patting the spot on the bridge next to him, hoping that Rory would sit. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just stuff you probably wouldn't want to know about, you know, stuff about school and…" Rory hoped that Jess wouldn't sense that she was lying. School wasn't what she was thinking about; she was thinking about Jess. Ever since she saw him earlier that day at _Luke's_, he was all that she could think about. 

She felt that he was staring at her, but she didn't know what to say that could break that dreadfully awkward silence that filled the air. She looked up at him and drew in a deep breathe. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Jess moved in closer towards her, but Rory quickly moved away.

She stood up and closed her eyes tightly. "You know what," she said shakily, "I should be getting home. My mom is expecting me and I should just go." She turned away from Jess before opening her eyes again. She felt as if she was about to explode. Her heart was beating at a faster rate and her stomach was in knots. She picked up her pace, hoping that Jess couldn't see her anymore. She just couldn't do it. She couldn't kiss him and want him like she did before he took off. He took off without even saying goodbye. How could she forgive that?

*************************************************************************************

"Babe!" Rory opened her eyes, sighing deeply. Was it already morning? She cringed at the thought of leaving her bed, leaving her room, even leaving the house. "What?" she called back to her mother.

"I want to go to _Luke's_. Mommy needs food in her tummy! You want to come with?"

She sighed again. "Yeah, just let me get ready." She didn't want to go, but she was going to have to face Jess sooner or later, right? She might as well face him with someone there with them. 

*************************************************************************************

"Lumberjack Luke!" cried out Lorelai. "My offspring and I need food and loads and loads of coffee!"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!?" Luke seemed frustrated with Rory's mom, but he gave them coffee anyway.

The mother and daughter sat down at a table; Rory thought that if she sat looking at the window that maybe there would be a chance that she wouldn't see Jess, therefore resulting in her not having to deal with the situation. Rory grabbed for the sit, but her mom sat down in it first. "Mom! I was going to sit down there."

"So? Grab another seat."

"But I wanted that one," Rory said sternly.

"Well, too bad." Lorelai said mockingly to her daughter.

"Fine." Rory gave up. She couldn't argue with her mom. She didn't have enough energy. She sat down and just stared down at the table. 

"What'll it be, ladies?" Oh, no. It was Jess. Rory shut her eyes tight. 

Lorelai looked up at Jess, shocked. She was boiling over in anger. Surprisingly, Lorelai didn't say anything to him. She looked back down at Rory.

"Rory?" her mom asked, concerned. 

"What?" she replied. "Oh. Um, I'll just have waffles and bacon." Rory kept her eyes on the table, not once looking up at Jess.

"Great. I'll have the same." Jess stared down at Rory for a few moments before leaving with their order.

Rory just sat at the table, feeling depressed. She couldn't figure out why; why depressed? She just couldn't think anymore. Her head felt swollen and overloaded with questions and thoughts; questions and thoughts all about Jess.

*************************************************************************************

"Are you okay, sweets?" 

"Yeah, I've just had a lot on my mind."

"Oh, you mean Jess?"

Rory all of a sudden felt panicked. "No. Just stuff."

Lorelai looked at Rory for several moments, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or not. "Why didn't you tell my he was back? I wouldn't have made you come with me if I knew he was back."

"You didn't make me go with you. I didn't tell you because I didn't think it was worth mentioning. I mean, it's only Jess."

"It's not only 'just Jess'," her mom said, thinking that her daughter was out of her mind. "He just left without saying goodbye and you don't think that it's a big deal that he's back?"

Rory paused. She didn't know what to say. "I'm tired, mom. Can we just talk about it later?"

Her mom gave a comforting smile, shut the door to Rory's room, and left her.

Rory went straight to her bed. She buried her head in her pillow and wanted more than anything to forget the past two days. She turned around, now facing the ceiling. "This is it, isn't it?" she said to herself quietly. "This is what it's going to be like."


	4. Through Jess' Eyes

A/N: As you can tell from the title, this chapter is going to solely based through Jess' eyes. I don't know if this was a good way to go, but it is going to retrace the past few days, showing what Jess is thinking from his return to Stars Hollow up to where I left off in the 3rd chapter. I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I know I didn't mention this in my first three chapters, but I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters (or some of the events that I mentioned), only the plot.

Through Jess' Eyes

"Here I am. Stars Hollow." Jess thought to himself, as he made his way to the diner. He wondered what it was that made small towns stay the same. Nothing looked different. Every flower seemed to not even have a petal out of place 

It was mid-morning now, so he knew that he would have a good chance to see who he came back to see - Rory. There was something about that name that comforted him. Rory. Rory. He could say that name every minute of every day and not grow tired of it. How he wanted to see her. He didn't care what anyone else thought. He came to fix things. Fix things with Rory. He didn't know how, but he had to try. He wanted her back.

Jess entered the diner, finding it about half full. He stepped up to the counter, spotting Caesar. "Hey, Caesar! Where's Luke at?" After seeing that Caesar didn't even bother to look up, he turned around and saw them. It was Luke with Rory. A sudden wave of happiness shot through his body.

He couldn't quite understand what she was saying to his uncle, but that didn't matter; soon they were both staring at him, silently in awe.

"What?" he said, in, not a question kind of way, but more as a greeting.

He kept his eyes on Rory the whole time, hoping that she would be the first to say something. But that was not the case…

"What the hell are you doing here, Jess?!" Ah! The exact reaction he knew his uncle would give. Jess held back with all his might his want to burst out laughing.

"I thought it would be fun to come back, is all."

"That's all? You can't just come back here. Why didn't you just stay with Jimmy?" Jess watched his uncle move himself away front the door, towards where he was. His eyes went straight back to Rory. He couldn't tell what she was thinking. He actually thought it was cute. She stood there, arms crossed and staring down at the floor, as if there was something amazing going on there that no one else could see.

"So, Rory, you just going to stand there, in everyone's way?" He didn't want it to come out that way. He wanted it to sound as if he was just asking a simple question; he didn't want it to sound like he was trying to make fun of her on purpose. Before he could say anything else, he heard her mumble "Sorry" to the incoming customers and make her way out of the diner.

"Jess, I need some answers."

He couldn't deal with his uncle now. He had to go to Rory…to talk. To see her - just see her.

It didn't take him long to find his way to the front door of her house. It was perfect. Just the way he remembered it. He stepped up to the door and was about to knock when he heard a familiar voice inside directing something to the person she _thought_ was at the door. 

"Mom, did you forget your key again? I told you to keep it in your purse or at least somewhere where you'll know where it is so you can get into the house…" she trailed off, not even finishing. He was kind of saddened. He wanted her to keep on talking, so that he could remember what her voice sounded like.

"What are you doing here, Jess?"

"Well, you kind of took off so suddenly from the diner that I didn't really get to say hi." This isn't what he really wanted to say. He wanted to tell her that he wanted her to take him back, that he missed being with her, that he would do anything to have her forgive him.

"Um, well, I had some studying to do, so, I thought that I would come here and do it, so…"

"Right. Isn't it summer now? You know, symbolizing not having to do homework?" Stupid! 'You finally get to talk to her and you say something as ridiculous and condescending as that?' he thought.

"Oh, uh, yeah, school, is over, but there is still summer reading and stuff like that. I just didn't want to get behind."

He wanted to slap himself. He knew that Rory was nervous and didn't need him making fun of her, but he did it anyway. He had to go. He didn't want to continue to make her feel this awkward.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Rory."

"Yeah, you, too."

He had deeply hoped that she would stop him and ask him to stay or ask if she could walk with him - anything to show that she wanted him there even a little bit.

"Why did you come back, Jess?"

"I'm not sure yet," he said, while walking away, leaving Rory standing in the doorway. But he knew. He knew why he had come back. For Rory.

He reached the diner a few minutes later. "You want any help Uncle Luke?" Luke looked at him, hardly. "Fine." he said, flatly.

Throughout the next few hours, it was 'pancakes and coffee, please' or 'bacon and eggs'! at least it was enough to kind of keep his mind of Rory.

*************************************************************************************

Jess was tired after he was done working at the diner. He grabbed his jacket, after Luke said that he didn't have to help anymore, and left. He couldn't stay in that place any longer; he had to get out. He started walking, not knowing where his feet were going to lead him. It didn't matter though; he only thought of one person. Before he knew it, he was at his feet's destination. The bridge. He smiled. This is the one actual place in Stars Hollow that he felt at peace and he was glad that he was there. He walked down to the end of the bridge and sat down. 

He was staring out at the water when he heard a rustling behind him. It was Rory. He stared at her for a couple seconds. He saw that she was looking down at the ground, much like earlier in the diner.

"Are you smiling at your shoes? Did they say something funny?" He wasn't afraid to let a little joke like that slip out, and he couldn't help but incorporate what he was thinking about before into his little joke.

He was glad to know that his decision to let that joke out was caught by Rory. "Well, you know, shoes have a lot to say. They've been everywhere you've been and haven't complained once about being the one that has to step in poop and mud." He smiled at her.

He was amazed with her. After all the bad that they've gone through, she was able to joke around with him, too. He missed that smile of hers, how it was small and more to herself than anyone else, but that it could make anyone who was around her, smile, too.

"So, what are you doing here, Gilmore? Shouldn't you be studying?" He waited for a witty response from her, but as he watched her face, he saw panic. He didn't understand, it was such a simple question.

"I thought that I would take a break and just walk around for a little while. I ended up here and wasn't sure if I should stay or keep on walking."

"Well, if you want to stay here, I could leave, Rory," he told her, secretly hoping deep down that she would tell him he could stay.

"I don't know…I don't care if you leave or stay, though. I was just thinking about some things and thought that I could come down here and sit and look out at the water and, well, think."

Jess used his right hand, patting the spot on the bridge next to him, hoping that Rory would sit. "What are you thinking about?"

"Just stuff you probably wouldn't want to know about, you know, stuff about school and…" 

He heard her trail off her sentence, but he was still amazed by how she talked. How her lips would move, where she would look with her eyes… He guessed that she felt that he was watching her because she turned her head to face him. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. He hadn't seen her this close in a long time, since before he left. Before he knew it, he was leaning in towards Rory, thinking that she had felt the same way he did.

"You know what, I should be getting home. My mom is expecting me and I should just go." She got up, and walked away from, as quickly as her feet would take her.

Jess just sat there. He didn't know what to think. He had scared her away. He wanted so much to rewind the last two minutes to take back what he tried to do with her, but he knew that he couldn't. He placed his face in both of his hands and just sat there, rocking back and forth.

*************************************************************************************

Jess sat there at the table on a chair, replaying last night. He was thinking about it over and over, asking himself why he had to do that. Just then, he heard someone downstairs say, "Lumberjack Luke." It could only be one person. He made his way down the stairs and noticed the mother and daughter bickering about something. He half-expected that Rory wouldn't even set foot in the diner after what happened. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that she was there. He thought that her showing up was some kind of sign; a sign that said that she didn't think he was now repulsive and a huge jerk. Now was his chance. He grabbed a pad and a pencil and walked toward the table they were sitting at.

"What'll it be, ladies?" He noticed that Lorelai was staring up at Jess, with a look that could easily kill him. That's when it hit him; she didn't know that he was back. Of course she didn't! There was no way that Luke or Rory would tell her that he came back to Stars Hollow after what he did to them. He was expecting the worst, but to his surprise, she turned away.

"Rory?" her mom asked, concerned. 

"What?" she replied. "Oh. Um, I'll just have waffles and bacon." Jess noticed that she didn't even look up to acknowledge that he was there. He knew he was wrong. She couldn't even stand to look at him anymore.

"Great. I'll have the same." Lorelai told Jess, coldly. Jess stared down at Rory for a few moments before leaving with their order.

*************************************************************************************

They left. Rory sure did a great job at not even looking at him. He felt so hurt; like there was now a big, huge hole in his heart that burned with every breathe that he took. What is he going to do now? He just sat there, thinking that this was how it was going to be from now on. Nothing was going to change.

A/N: I know that I ended this chapter and chapter 3 in similar ways - I did it to show the kind of bond that Jess and Rory have, and the ironic thing is that they don't even know. Please review!


	5. The Truth Comes Out

The Past Comes Back

She opened her eyes and saw that it had been morning. She felt relieved that she had actually been able to sleep.

"Hey, mom? Are you awake?" Rory asked, while making her way up the stairs to Lorelai's room.

"Yeah. Did you need something?"

"No, I just feel hungry."

"Well, get dressed and we'll head over to _Luke's_."

__

Oh, crap. It didn't occur to her what had happened until after she had heard what her mom said. She shut her eyes tightly, while trying to make her way towards the stairs. When she got out into the hallway, she opened her eyes and thought to herself _"You're going to be fine, Rory. You can go into the diner without feeling awkward and tense….."_ Yes, that is what she told herself…

*************************************************************************************

"Lumberjack Luke!" 

"Lorelai, haven't we had this conversation?" Luke said bitterly.

While Lorelai and Luke were arguing with each other, Rory looked around the diner for Jess. She didn't see him anywhere and felt a moment of relief.

"Rory?" a voice called out from behind her.

She turned around and saw him. He was in the storage room doing something when she and her mother had arrived. She opened her mouth, forcing words out. "Hey, Jess."

"Listen," Jess whispered to her, "I think that we should talk somewhere…alone."

She didn't want to be alone with him…not now. She couldn't be. But against her better judgment, she said, "Sure," and followed him out of the diner.

Minutes had passed before any of them would say anything to the other. They just walked until they noticed how closed off they were from the rest off the town - they were in a clearing between a bunch of trees and shrubbery. Jess stopped walking as soon as he noticed where they were, but Rory continued to walk.

"Rory?"

There was something in the way he said her name. It was in a soft voice, but… She couldn't explain it - it was just one of the qualities she liked about him so much. "Yeah?" she said, while turning around.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" She knew what he was sorry about. He was sorry about what had happened last night. But she didn't want him to be sorry about that; she wanted him to apologize for leaving. For leaving her.

"For trying to kiss you last night. It was wrong of me to try to…"

"I don't care about last night," she quickly said, cutting Jess off. She knew that she kind of lied. Last night was a huge deal; it brought back so many memories and a pain that she didn't want to remember. "I just wish…" She didn't know what to say; how to put it into words.

"What?" Jess slowly walked over to her, putting his hand under her chin and raising her head. She had started to cry.

Rory blinked several times to try to stop herself from shedding any more tears. "Why did you leave me?"

Jess dropped his hand and closed his eyes. _Oh, God. What do I say? 'I left you, Rory, because I thought that you deserved more, better, than me…'_ "I don't know why I left." Why couldn't he just say what he thought; why he had actually left?

"Don't lie…" She thought that he left simply because he didn't love her anymore. Her muscles tightened at this thought; she wanted more than anything for that to _not _be the reason he had left.

"Rory…"

She turned around again, facing away from him. They both took several deep breathes before she turned around. "Did you leave because you didn't love me anymore?" She didn't realize she had said that word - that now dreadful "l" word - until she saw the look in his eyes.

He was so pained to hear her ask that - to know that she even thought it. How could he not love her? "Rory, no…"

"Then why?" She was starting to get angry now. She thought that she had the right know why he had just left, without even telling her.

"I was just so screwed up, Rory. I didn't mean to hurt you - I never want to hurt you."

"Then you shouldn't have left!" Rory was screaming now; she couldn't help herself.

They both stood there in silence, not knowing what else to say.


	6. Can Coffee Get Gross?

A/N: Sorry that I took so long with this chapter…man, I still have to work on that procrastinating thing... Well, I already have some other ideas for upcoming chapters - aren't you all proud of me! ;-) Italics represent Rory's thoughts.

I want to take this chance to thank a few special reviewers - Smile1 - you are so cool! I love your reviews, criticisms and all, LCI-02/03 - you are cool as well…I'm very pleased to know that you want to continue reading, and swimchic60 - thank you for saying that! I'm glad to know that I can write something that affects people that way! Thank you guys for your support (I know it sounds kind of corny, but your reviews brought smiles to my face!!!)

Oh, and Krys, thank you for pointing those details out to me…I didn't even notice.

****

Can Coffee Get Gross?

Her breathing was labored now. She had to get away from there, away from Jess. She just couldn't do this now. She shifted her body quietly, hoping that Jess couldn't notice that she was trying to get away.

"Rory?" Jess wanted nothing more than to just be with her, even if it meant feeling that painful tightening around his chest. He stared at her as she paused from walking.

She closed her eyes tightly, letting a pained breathe in. "Jess, I have to get home. I just can't do this now, not anymore." And with that, she left.

********************************************************************************

"Rory, what took you so long?"

"Sorry, mom. When I saw that you weren't in the diner, I started to walk here, but I guess I just sort of lost track of time." She stared at the ground while walking to her room.

"Well, ok, but, honey, do you want to talk about something?"

Rory paused for a few moments, not even able to form a complete thought. "No, mom, I just want to go to sleep…"

"Okay," her mom said sweetly. "If you want to talk to me, you know where I'll be."

"Thanks." Rory didn't even have enough energy to say that loud enough for her mother to hear.

Her body felt like it was carrying a whole bunch of weights that she just can't take off. She walked over to her bed, not even bothering to change her clothes. She took a deep breathe and allowed herself to fall forward. She crawled under her blankets and slowly sobbed herself to sleep.

********************************************************************************

Rory grunted while she rose from her bed. 'Great…another day has come…' she thought while trudging up the stairs to her mother's room.

"Mom, are you awake?"

"God! No waking up mommy before noon in weekends!!!!"

"Mom, it's Wednesday," Rory replied while secretly making sure in her mind.

"Well, then, aren't you supposed to be in school?" her mom asked confusingly.

"Mom, it's summer."

"Oy. I need coffee."

"Yeah, you do. Now I know what you're like when there is no coffee present in your system."

"Yeah, I know - it's a gorgeous thing to witness - wait, why can't I see?"

"Mom, you kind of have to open your eyes."

"Oh…right. That might help."

"Yeah…" Rory was so amused to watch her mother forget which body part functioned as what.

"My beautiful offspring, fruit of my loins, best daughter ever, prettiest girl in the world, well, next to me, of course, we have to go to _Luke's_."

__

Oh, God. Going to Luke's _means having to see Jess… What do I do, what do I do, what do I do…?_

"You know what, Mom, why don't you go and bring me back some…?" Rory mentally slapped herself. Why did she make that a question?! Now she's going to remember that I was upset about something last night…

"Why don't you want to come, sweets?"

Rory stared at her mother inquisitively. She knew. Her mother knew that it had something to do with Jess. She has that look in her eye…what is she up to?

"I just don't feel like getting changed and going over there…I guess I'm just in lazy mode today."

"Uh huh…" Lorelai trailed off. "And what if I don't bring you back any coffee?" she said in a weird tone.

"Why wouldn't you bring me any coffee back?" Rory knew what her mother was doing…

"Oh, well it would just take too much energy to go down there only to come back holding that ridiculous to-go cup. And besides, I'm gonna be taking my time there, whilst that coffee of yours is just sitting there on the table, getting cold and gross, wait, is that even possible - for coffee to get gross?" Lorelai paused for a moment, thinking about her own question. "Well, you might as well come and sit there in that diner with your loving mother and drink your coffee there…" _Finally, she stopped._ "Unless…" _Oh, no. _"Unless, you have a good reason for not wanting to go that you haven't told your gorgeous mother yet?" _And there it was…_

"First of all, when did you start using the word 'whilst'? I don't think that coffee ever could get gross, well maybe if it were just sitting there for like a month, or maybe longer, but then it would still be coffee, so it might not be that bad…" Rory looked up to find her mother staring at her as if she was just dropped through the roof. "Sorry, mom. I just don't want to go to the diner because…" _here it goes… _"…Jess might be there, and I don't think that we are on the best of terms right now." _Okay, say something mother. Why do you choose now to be quiet? I, even almost all of the people in this town, have told you to shut up at least once and not once have you obeyed, but you choose now to keep quiet…of course. _"Mom?"

"Nope." Lorelai said while walking into the bathroom, getting dressed.

"What do you mean 'nope'?" I yelled through the bathroom door.

"I'm not going to be your 'in-between person'?

__

'In-between person'? What the heck was that?

"What?"

"I'm not going to get you stuff like coffee just because you don't want to face Jess. I do realize that this is kind of cruel, but you have to find some way of working your problems out with Jess and getting your coffee yourself." And with that, Lorelai was down the stairs and out the door.

__

And, of course, she chooses now not to help me.


	7. That Long Awaited Talk

****

That Long Awaited Talk

(A/N: Once again, italics represent Rory's thoughts.)

Okay…you can do this, Rory. Just take a few more steps into the diner…you can do it. Okay, two more steps…now open the door. Come on hand, reach up…  
  
"Hi, honey, you decided to come!"  
  
"Well, I really had no choice seeing as how you wouldn't bring me any coffee from here and we don't have any in our house because you refuse to put actual drinks and food in our fridge besides two-week old pizza." Rory retorted.  
  
"Well, sweets, as much as I love listening to you criticize me, I think someone wants to talk to you," Lorelai said while pointing behind her daughter.  
  
Rory looked back, seeing the person she forgot made it so hard for her to step foot in the place in the first place. "Hey, Jess," Rory whispered.  
  
"Hey."  
  
Though they had so much to say to each other, they had such a hard time just saying it. After a few moments, though it seemed like an eternity, Luke walked in and noticed the two awkward bodies just standing there.  
  
"What's going on?" Luke asked Lorelai.  
  
"Oh, they're trying to read each other's thoughts by intently looking at the anything else besides the other person, in the hope that they don't actually have to talk to each other."  
  
Luke just paused, then told Jess that he had to get back to work.  
  
"You know what? I'm just going to take a break." Jess then brushed past Rory and headed towards the door.  
  
"What do you mean take a break?! You've barely even started working!" But before Luke knew it, Jess was already out the door.  
  
Rory looked out the door for a few seconds before finally deciding to go after him. "I'll see at home later, mom." And with that she was out the door as well.  


She looked out into the street that he had just walked onto. _How could he have possibly gotten away that fast?_

"Rory?" Rory jumped at the sound of the voice that came from behind her. She turned around…

"Jess."

"That's me."

They both sighed and just stood there, simultaneously looking at each other.

"I was going to look for you." Rory stated plainly.

"Yeah, I saw you walking out of the diner."

"Right, 'cause that would explain why you came up behind me, saying my name."

After a few brief moments, Jess asked, "Why were coming to look for me?"

"Um, you just seemed a little upset and I thought that I could go see if you were okay."

"Oh." Jess replied in a relaxed tone. "Rory, do you think that we could talk?"

"Isn't that what we're doing now?"

"No, well, yeah, we are talking now, but I meant talking somewhere more…private."

"Sure," Rory said unsurely.

__

Breathe, Rory, just breathe. You'll be fine. There's nothing to worry about - you can handle talking to him by yourself, all alone, with no one else around… Okay - stop! You're freaking out over nothing! This is Jess! Just breathe and you'll be fine.

"Rory?"

"What?! I wasn't thinking about you!" Rory shouted out, alerted by his sudden talking.

"O…kay. I was just about to ask if you wanted to go to the bridge to talk."

"Oh. Um, yeah, sure." She mentally slapped herself for shouting such a ridiculous thought out. _Note to self: think before actually talking around Jess._

They soon arrived at the bridge, stopping in complete silence and awkwardness.

"About last night…" they both blurted out at the same time.

"Sorry, you go," Jess said.

"No, you go."

"Okay. I didn't mean to get you so upset. I just hate seeing you cry…it's something that I never want to see again…"

Rory took a few steps towards Jess. "I'm sorry that I walked away from you. I just had to know why you left…and after all that we said to each other…I just had to go, I couldn't handle it anymore." Rory looked deeper and deeper into Jess's eyes with every word that she said.

Jess dropped his head. "So are we giving up?"

Rory looked at him, with confused eyes. "What do mean? Give up on what?" She knew what he meant, she just had to hear him say it.

Jess looked up, directly into her eyes. "On us."

Rory stared back. "I don't know if I can just forgive you Jess…not after what happened."

"I know, but please just give me a chance to make it up to you."

__

This could be interesting… "How?"

"Well, I can't tell you…it's a secret," he said with that smirk of his.

Rory laughed. "I'm glad that you came back." 

"Me, too"

Rory then walked over to Jess and gave him a hug.


	8. My Everything

Disclaimer: I realized I've only done one of these, so here it is again: I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters - they all belong to the WB and the gifted writers. "My Everything also does not belong to me - it belongs to 98 Degrees and whomever else.

A/N: For the song, I do realize that neither Rory nor Jess would ever listen to such a song, but I thought the lyrics were so sweet and they displayed the type of emotion I wanted to put into this chapter…this will probably be the only chapter I ever use song lyrics, so just bear with me! Just a little warning: this chapter gets to be a little AU.

****

My Everything

"Mom, I'm home!" Rory yelled as she came through the front door of their house. She was smiling now - she couldn't help but to.

"Hey, sweets. Where have you been?"

"I was just talking to Jess."

"Oh," Lorelai said confusingly. "Weren't you mad at him before?"

"Yeah, but we worked it out. Everything's okay now."

Lorelai paused for a moment, thinking about what her daughter had just said. Why was Rory all of a sudden being so forgiving towards Jess? Wasn't he the same guy that left her daughter broken-hearted without even giving a single thought as to how he had a affected her? How could he come back for forgiveness after what he did; and most importantly, how could Rory give that forgiveness?

"Oh, okay. So he apologized?" She didn't want to push her daughter, if she wanted to forgive him, she could; it was her choice, but what she didn't understand is why she even heard him out. Of course. She knew why. Her daughter wasn't even capable of expressing "hate". In all of Rory's year's, she's never been able to hold a true grudge against anyone she's come in contact with.

"Yeah. We just started to talk and we were able to say things to each other that we've been wanting to say for a long time now."

"Alright. Well, sorry to leave you, babe, but I got to get to the inn." Lorelai was, to say the least, shocked. She didn't want her daughter to get hurt again, but it was her decision…let's just hope it was the right one.

"Okay, I'll see you tonight."

******************************************************************

Rory snuggled up in her bed with a book. Before she knew it, she fell asleep.

An hour later, Rory woke up to silence. She took in a deep breathe and sat up, then got out of her bed to go turn on the light switch that was located by her door. As she turned back to her bed, something had caught her eye that was located on the window sill. She stared at it for a few minutes before even thinking of going to grab it.

It was a note. From Jess.

__

Hey, Rory. 

I wanted to come talk to you, but saw that you were asleep, so I left this note, which is kind of obvious because you're reading it - how's that a generalization for you? Well, I wanted to see if you would like to spend some time with me tonight, maybe cash in on that 'surprise' I told you that I had for you. Well, I guess I'll see you later. Come by the bridge when you can.

Jess

Rory smiled. She missed this. She missed having Jess in her life and that feeling she got when they were first going out - that tingling feeling you have in your stomach whenever you see that one person and you just feel your heart soar - that feeling she never wanted to go away.

She changed into jeans and a t-shirt. As she headed toward the door, she grabbed her jacket. 

On the walk over to the bridge, she was plagued with memories and all the feelings she had for Jess before he left - but not plagued in a bad way, plagued like in the most greatest way.

And there he was. Sitting on the bridge, exactly where he said he was going to be. She smiled once again before walking toward him.

"Hey," Rory said sweetly.

Jess looked up and his face seemed to light up. "Hey."

He stood up and handed her a red rose. Rory took it gratefully and smiled at him. She was so amazed at how he acted when he was around her. 

"So, do I get to see what surprise you had for me?" Rory said, almost seductively.

"Yes, but not quite yet. I thought that we could do something else first." 

Rory watched him as he had brought his CD player out into better view, then turned it on.

"Rory, will you dance with me?"

Without thinking, she placed her hand in Jess', bringing herself closer to him.

As they began to dance, Rory and Jess listened to the lyrics, automatically relating it to themselves.

__

The loneliness of nights so long

The search for strength to carry on

My every hope had seemed to die

My eyes had no more tears to cry

Then like the sun shined from up above

You surrounded me with your endless love

And all the things I couldn't see

Are now so clear to me

You are my everything

Nothing your love won't bring

My life is yours alone

The only love I've ever known

Your spirit pulls me through

When nothing else will do

Every night I pray on bended knee

That you will always be my everything

Now all my hopes and all my dreams 

Are suddenly reality

You've opened up my heart to feel

The kind of love that's truly real

A guiding light that'll never fade

There's not a thing in life that I would ever trade

For the love you give and won't let go

I hope you'll always know

You are my everything

Nothing your love won't bring

My life is yours alone

The only love I've ever known

Your spirit pulls me through

When nothing else will do

Every night I pray on bended knee

That you will always be my everything

Your breathe of life in me

The only one that sets me free

And you have made my soul complete

For all time

Rory looked up at Jess and realized that he was mouthing certain words to the song - "you will always be my everything". She stared up at him in amazement, not knowing what to think. She just felt so safe and calm in his arms - his tight grasp around her let her know that he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

So…what did you guys think? Let me know. Please review! Another chapter coming soon!


	9. It was soPerfect

A/N: Yeah, I know, I kind of suck. I said this chapter would come soon and it has already been over a month… Sorry, for a couple things, actually. I know that the last chapter was a little…not 'Gilmore Girls', I guess I should have added that it was going to be kind of AU…my most humble apologies. Well, anyways, here's the chapter.

Disclaimer: You already know.

****

Chapter 9: It was so…Perfect

Rory seemed to breeze into the house. She was so happy that she didn't even notice the questioning look from her mother.

"Rory, what's wrong with you?" Lorelai's voice was a little amusing because it seemed like she had never seen her daughter happy before.

"Nothing, nothing at all." She plopped down on the couch next to here mom.

"Okay, you are too happy. What did you do?"

"Nothing, I just went out with Jess. We were at the bridge and we danced. It was so…perfect."

"Whoa…Jess actually danced? Did you take any pictures?"

Rory snapped out of her dream-like state and threw a pillow at Lorelai. "I'm just really happy."

Lorelai sighed. "Well, I'm glad."

Rory looked up. "What?"

"Nothing, I am."

"Okay," Rory answered, still hesitant on her mother's response. "I'm gonna go to bed now. 'Night."

"'Night, angel." They gave each other a kiss on the cheek before retiring to their rooms.

***

There she was, walking on the sidewalk, with a book in hand. He had rarely seen her without a book. But he liked that about her. She could focus solely on what was written that she would barely notice anything that went on around her. One of the many things that he loved about her.

"Whatcha readin'?" he asked from behind her.

"A book." She didn't take her eyes off the book and continued walking.

"Really?" He missed this - being able to playfully bug her.

"Well, that is what they call these." She turned around and raised her book to show Jess her book.

He chuckled and grabbed the book away from her.

"Hey! Give that back!" She jokingly screamed, jumping up as he held it up above his head, above her reach.

"Or what?"

She glared at him, she could tell what he wanted, but she wouldn't give in. "Fine, keep the book. I'll just go and find another one." She pretended to be mad and turned to walk away. 

"Rory." He placed his hand on her arm.

She turned around, a huge smirk in place. "I knew that would work." She grabbed the book and started to walk off again.

"Hey! You tricked me," he said as he fell into step with her.

"Well, that will teach you to mess with me." She gave him a sideways glance which had caused him to smile.

"Alright, duly noted: don't mess with Rory. Do I at least get a kiss?"

"Hmmmm…." Rory stopped and brought her hand up to her chin. "I don't know if you deserve one."

"Come on….." he slightly whined.

She had to chuckle at his display. "Alright." She leaned in and kissed him softly.

"What, that's it?"

"My kisses aren't good enough now?"

"No, I love your kisses, but I expected something like this…" He stepped closer to Rory and started to kiss her deeply. 

"Oh," was all she could manage to choke out.

He laughed slightly. "Never thought I'd see the day where Rory was speechless."

She narrowed her eyes and lightly slapped him with her book. "You take that back."

He laughed again. "Never." He paused for a second. "Wanna go to the diner?"

"Yep."

A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short and void of barely any happenings, but I felt like I needed to put out a chapter to show all of you that I haven't quit writing this fic yet, but I am totally out of ideas as to where to lead this, so here comes my favor: if you have any suggestions, email me with them. All I ask is that you don't put it in the review - if I use someone's idea, I would like for it to be a surprise to the other readers. Thanks a bunch to all of you!


End file.
